This Is War
by JERSIIIfied
Summary: The school is split between two warring brothers: Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, otherwise known as Konoha High's Two Kings. So when a fight breaks out about their only mutual friend, Sakura, Tsunade finally manages to force her into mission impossible: get the two brothers to get along. And that means spending time with one Itachi Uchiha. High School AU.
1. Chapter 1

This Is War

_Prologue_

* * *

He prowled the halls, glaring predatorily at anyone who dared to catch his gaze, the crowd of petulant teens parting like the red sea by his unspoken command. He was hunting again. The dangerous gleam in his eyes ensured that he was not to be questioned. And when the boy snarled, the animalistic sound served to petrify some cocky brat who thought he could block a King's parade.

After all, that was what he was. Sasuke Uchiha was a king- there was no denying that. But it was argued that Itachi Uchiha was also a king in his own right, although he preferred to be called a _God_.

Sasuke only growled at the thought of his brother ruling alongside him- enough was _enough_. Itachi had finally pushed his limits. This world was too small for two kings. So now he was going to ensure that only one remained. And he was sure as hell that it was going to be him.

So when the punch he aimed at Itachi was intercepted by his elder brother's own punch, his intimidating, aloof gaze drilling into Sasuke's very soul, the younger Uchiha could not find it in himself to be terrified like in all their previous encounters. Sasuke was older now, and more powerful. He could take on his older brother- especially now that his determination was only fueled by his own, infamous hatred. This time, Sasuke was going to win.

Because this time, Sasuke was really, really _pissed_.

He faced his brother, foreheads nearly touching as they continued to glare so chillingly at their own flesh and blood. Their fists remained in contact, warring with each other, pushing at each other to prove their superiority. Both brothers didn't notice the crowd steadily forming around them, unusually quite for people anticipating a gruesome scene of violence- they didn't scream their usual demands for a 'fight!'.

Naruto and Kiba flanked Sasuke on both sides, the two troublemakers tagging along with their unspoken leader without further complaint; they were too busy anticipating their pay back.

Beside Itachi, Deidara and Sasori glared back. Naruto grinned; _Ohh, it was so on_.

Because this time, there seemed to be a reason for Sasuke's attack. The tension was palpable, the silence not to be trifled with. It was so quite, a dropped pin could be heard. Everyone held their breaths.

Sasuke made the first move, his words barely above a whisper. His words were so sharp, so _angry_, it could've cut through Itachi's very own demented soul.

But it served to enlighten everyone. They now knew what this sudden clashing was about- and because of that, what seemed like the whole school now knew that this fight was _serious_.

"_I told you not to touch __**her**_"

When Itachi only smirked, Sasuke _swung_.

And suddenly, there was _chaos_.


	2. Chapter 2

**WARNING: Un-beta'd. Not Proof-read (Quick Update). Read at your own risk.**

* * *

This is War

_Chapter 1_

* * *

**Sakura**

**.**

She was shoved (rather forcefully, she would later complain) into a weathered, suspiciously moist plastic chair.

A spotlight was suddenly turned on, flickering ominously in the dark, dismal lighting of the abandoned gym storage room. Sakura could only sigh at her friend's tendencies for erratic, over dramatic (and completely unnecessary) behavior. But since her hands were completely restricted by the harsh bite of rough, thick ropes, she settled for glaring viciously at her blonde friend, and equally blonde sensei.

She had a bad feeling about this. And the feeling was then abruptly proven correct by the appearance of her generally elusive tutor.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she snapped, feeling her fingers flex in anticipation for an oncoming (and totally inevitable- they _did_ tie her up, after all) fight. "You better have a perfectly good explanation for this, because I swear to God, _I'll hit you_!"

And when the oh-so-innocent Hatake only gave her his infamous eye-smile, and then proceeded to indifferently whip out his porn, Sakura felt her temper flare.

"I've already dealt with the 2 morons requiring dire medical attention because of some stupid fight this afternoon…" she muttered threateningly, face darkening as she recalled the way her two best friends constantly _moaned_ and _whined_ and _whinged_ about the situation like it wasn't their fault to begin with! "I can't deal with this right now!"

But it seemed she had done something atrocious in her past life, because her shishou spoke the words she had come to _dread _since she had first heard it 3 years ago.

"Sakura, _I need a favour_"

And when Sakura realized her head-master looked uncharacteristically solemn, the pink-haired year 10 student could only groan in apprehension.

She knew this was going to be bad. From the second she saw Naruto Uzimaki and Sasukae _Uchiha_ -of all people- standing beaten, bloodied and battered at her front porch, she knew something had gone terribly _wrong_. But she didn't ask any questions- she didn't want to get involved in their mess. She merely worked and put her energy towards cleaning their wounds- even when Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru showed up, looking worst for wear and closer to death than any other times she'd seen them; she knew what they got up to- and if they'd refused to listen to her advice, there was no way in hell she'd even consider displaying even a glimpse of care.

But now, it's come to bite her back in the ass.

"Umm, Shishou?" She inquired, investing in a last futile attempt at escape. "What ever the matter is, I'm sure that-"

Of course, being the domineering person the she was, Tsunade Senju easily interrupted her apprentice's ineligible mumblings. "Sakura, if there's one thing _anyone_ in this room is sure about, it's that I'm absolutely _sure_ that you will do me this one favour"

Sakura remained in suspense, until she heard Tsunade continue. "…This time"

So when it had finally clicked in her mind, her body had sub-conciously gone into what Sakura had lovingly named the 'rejection mode'. Note: different (no matter how minimally) to 'denial mode'.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, _NO_!" She repeated like some sort of twisted mantra, head shaking vigorously to the point that it was starting to give her a head-ache. But right now, what was _not_ the main… tragedy she was currently facing; because it was a _tragedy_, for Sakura knew what one favour Tsunade had constantly begged for her do, but had constantly failed at. It was the only one she _refused_ to do, even for her shishou (who was like- _is_ a second mother to her), although there were a few close calls. "I refuse to even _attempt_ this suicide-mission! No, no, no, no, _no_!"

When it looked like Tsunade was about to interrupt, Sakura continued on, unrelenting in her frantic tirade, unwilling to even let her sensei have a _chance_ at trying to convince her otherwise. "I refuse to try and get the Uchiha brothers to get along! Many greater than me have tried and failed miserably, with a few scars to count for it! Even Naruto, for goodness' sake!" she had begged desperately, feeling just about ready to cry.

But her sensei refused to listen; in fact, it seemed as if Tsunade became even more empowered by her protégé's begging. She had stippled her fingers underneath her chin, looking like she was once again announcing another imperative demand. "Sakura, this time, it's _serious_." She began, her face darkening almost imperceptibly. "Those idiot brother started another fight" and when it looked like Sakura was about to interrupt, she merely held up her hand in a command for silence. Sakura wisely remained silent; Tsunade was _too calm_. "They tore up the whole gym and completely destroyed the cafeteria. Most of the windows are broken, the tables are splintered, the expensive kitchen and gym equipment was fully torn apart and the whole area's a whole mess. It's going to take quite a lot of money and time to totally repair; it'll cost thousands- maybe even millions. Not to mention that quite a lot of staff was injured while trying to stop the fight."

However, before anyone could inquire any further, Tsunade abruptly changed the subject. "Sakura, do you know what month it is?"

When Sakura stuttered out the date, Ino flinched. "It's… November, right?" It seemed as f she was the only one left in the dark, and it was causing her to get extremely nervous. There was nothing _worst_ than being left to anticipate the w_orst_.

Tsunade nodded coolly. "Yes. And do you remember why the staff of Konoha High had been in hectic pandemonium these past few months?"

Sakura had gone on holiday a few weeks ago, and had only gotten back very recently- but she vaguely remembered some panic about someone (or something) coming to visit? In fact, today was her first day of school and it had already been one of her worst so far. Sakura realised that if this was an indication to the sort of things to expect in the next coming days, it would've been better if she'd stayed in France for a another few weeks. "Uhh… No?" she had attempted feebly.

When Tsunade gave a hollow laugh, Sakura held her breath. She also saw Kakashi-sensei tensing from her peripheral vision- he looked as if he was anticipating a fight. Like he was prepared to jump at any second to hold his boss down is she decided to go on a rampage. "Ofsted. That's who. I've had Kurenai badgering for the past few months asking when to expect them; I've had Iruka-sensei banging on my office door at 5 o'clock in the morning showing me new ideas we could use to impress the inspectors; I've had the board of directors and the local council threatening me, saying they'll cut budgets if we fail this inspection." Tsunade took a deep breath, as if she was trying to calm down- but Sakura knew her Shishou was only a few seconds away from exploding. "Konoha is a prestigious school; we're the oldest town in this country, the oldest education institute in this country, the oldest council in this country, the oldest _High School_ in this goddamned country! And on the first ofsted inspection we get this goddamned decade, heck, _century_, we get the infamous, un-expellable Uchiha brothers starting the biggest fight in Konoha history! _Millions of pounds_, Sakura! And this isn't even the first time! Those idiot brothers are incorrigible!" she ranted angrily, having had stood up and slammed her fist onto the creaky, archaic desk that had been left to rot in the old storage room. The loud _bang_ that had reverberated off the walls as it crashed onto floor seemed to heighten the tension. A large cloud of dust came from the suddenly disrupted floor, but Sakura could only wheeze and cough helplessly; and when she looked up, she could see her sensei- _no_, the Head-master of the esteemed Konoha High School staring back at her, her hazel eyes seeming to pierce into Sakura very own vulnerable soul.

And when Tsunade finally spoke, there was a sharp edge of finally to her voice. "You _will_ get the Uchiha brothers to get along; that's an order. You caused the fight, however indirectly, so you take responsibility for your actions. I will not have this school made liable for some spoilt brats' selfish actions." And then she was gone, storming out through the small, dilapidated door of their little closet/interrogation room.

Sakura knew her sensei wasn't talking about her when she made the '_brat_' comment, but nevertheless, it still sounded like it was- so it _hurt_. It hurt. "Why meee?" She groaned, exasperated.

When Kakashi had finally untied her, she gruffly shoved her face into her hands, elbows on her knees; she didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but she could feel a tell-tale stinging in her eyes. She groaned again. "Why?"

"Because Itachi Uchiha became interested in you" Ino stated, leaning nonchalantly against the wall in Sakura's direct vision. When Sakura looked up, she continued. "Tsunade-sama's already been stressed recently with the whole off-stead visit especially without you there to help her; _then_ Sasuke and Itachi had to go and destroy the cafeteria and the gym. She not only had to deal with the board telling her to get everything perfect for the visit, but now she also has to sort out the paper work for the damage, compensation and complaints of the injured and affected teachers. Tsunade-sama finally realised she can't run from this particular issue any further"

Sakura abruptly stood up, barely registering Kakashi's hasty retreat. "But Pig, why _me _and why _now_? Tsunade-sama's had plenty of time to _tell_ me I _had_ to go on this suicide mission! Why now?!" She screamed, frustrated and agonizingly _tired_. When she spoke again, she seemed almost defeated. "…Why _now_?"

Ino came up to her, putting a placating hand on her shoulder to stop her hysterical pacing. "_Because_, Forehead. You're the only one on Sasuke's side that Itachi mildly tolerates- hey, maybe even _like_! You're basically his childhood friend, too, considering how much time you spent at the Uchiha household when you were kids; he wouldn't hurt you, no matter what you say" She steered Sakura out the dusty old store room, forcibly grabbing her by the elbows; Ino didn't really think that the overpoweringly disgusting scent of mould and other unpleasant, unnameable things helped Sakura's currently fragile sanity. "Besides, you had to go be your stupid usual self and attract Itachi _Uchiha_'s twisted attention- that little stunt you pulled before you left? …well, you know how Sasuke is about his brother touching anyone on his group- especially _you_."

When they got to the main school building, the tension had considerably lightened. Sakura couldn't help one tiny quip at her friend, seeing as Ino seemed to be the all-knowing one today. "You're fairly articulate today; are you sure you knew what half the words you spouted meant?" Sakura merely laughed as she ducked Ino's swing.

"I was practicing the speech as you were having your panic attack- _obviously_" Sakura rolled her eyes at her friend's over-exaggeration. Ino unceremoniously dropped her arm around Sakura's shoulder. "Besides, forehead, I need you to get the school to get along so I can _finally_ get into Sasori Akasuna's well-fitted trousers!"

This time, it was Ino that had to duck.

* * *

**Itachi**

**.**

Itachi wouldn't say he was cocky. He was confident- that, he did not deny, for his confidence had reasoning. His cousin is the current chief of police; he came from old money- his family owns one of the biggest companies nationwide, responsible for hundreds of jobs not only within Konoha, but also throughout the UK, to which his father was the largest share holder. His immediate family was also Nobility, with his father a Duke, as the head of one of the oldest, most revered houses in the world.

So, confident? Yes. _Over_-confident? No; he was just aware of his power and position in the social hierarchy, and he didn't hesitate to use it to his advantage. After all, he might as well use the most of his given opportunities, if he can't alter it. He was confident because he knew he could never be disapproved.

There were only 3 things in his life that would remain unpredictable; His cousin, Shisui. One of his brother's best friend, the mayor's son, Naruto. And most surprisingly, his brother's other best friend: Sakura. His parents and little brother weren't irregularities in _his_ life, personally. He knew that concerning him, his father would always remain his aloof, subtly caring self; he knew that his mother would always love him unconditionally, unrelentingly (and stupidly, he would complain) forgiving; and he also knew that Sasuke would always be his infuriatingly foolish little brother.

But Shisui- there was something about his cousin that sometimes caught him off guard. When he would think that he had finally figured his idiot of a cousin out, the idiot would undoubtedly do the completely opposite of what he's expected. For years he had tried, but it seems as if Itachi would never unravel his cousin's 'superior' mind- the mystery that was Shisui Uchiha. But he didn't like to dwell on these insignificant things…

And, Naruto; honestly, Itachi though him an idiot at first. The obnoxiously loud and irritatingly happy blonde constantly grated at his nerves, aggravating him to the point of verbal (and most time, also physical) abuse. And while the blonde was also violent and hot-headed like his Uchiha counterpart, there were times when Naruto displayed a maturing amount of maturity in the necessary situations; maybe Mayor Namikaze (and Sakura) had finally –minimally- rubbed off on him, like Mikoto Uchiha had pointlessly hoped. But no, it was also Naruto's insistent determination to _succeed_; even in the most hopeless situations, even when faced with possible death, Naruto had persevered, all the while managing to help the people around him. _An over achiever_, Itachi had once _casually _remarked; but he had ultimately realized that it wasn't so. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze wasn't a terribly _perfect_ _person_- he was only decidedly, stubbornly so.

Now Sakura, with the distinct pinkness of her hair and her attitude towards _him_. At first, he had thought that she was another one of his brother's fan girls- and at first, she was. But every once in a while, she would prove herself worthy as the friend of an Uchiha heir; sometimes, the girl would show some backbone. Sometimes, she'd gather enough courage to disagree with him on something and argue her thoughts against him; she was most entertaining when she had fully immersed herself into their little 'fights'.

Of course, she wasn't the only female (or male, for that matter) who had ever disagree with him; he'd had teachers, parents, family, friends, cousins, even ex-girlfriends who had challenged him. But the fact that stood out to Itachi the most about was that the usually timid girl would actually put herself out there and question him, although she was painfully shy; it was the fact that she would continuously disregard her own comfort at a moments notice if only to ease a situation, especially during one of Itachi's little disagreements with his foolish little brother, for his and Sasuke's sake, both. It surprised him, because he had never shown an outward interest in her before, so therefore, she had no reason to invest effort into occasionally helping him.

She would be the one that was stuck calming and trying to hold him back (because Naruto –and hesitantly, Sasuke- were blatantly aware of the fact that Itachi had never hit a girl, and _never _would, no matter how much he had obviously desired to; he was just a mama's boy like that. Boys however, he had no problem with, as both Sasuke and Naruto were agonizingly aware). Sakura was the designated Itachi-keeper when his mother (or even his father) weren't around to resolve one of his and Sasuke's fights; she would be the one left to care for him while Naruto dragged Sasuke away to attempt to calm him down. But he would very rarely initiate conversation during those infrequent moments. She had no reason to think he liked her (heck, even _tolerated_ her); but Sakura still found it within herself to waste energy caring about him.

Without a doubt, if a fight about an inconsequential thing broke out, with no one at a definite fault, Sakura would certainly side with Sasuke. But when she knew Sasuke was at fault, she _would_ side with Itachi. And he also knew that Sakura wasn't the most giving person around; she didn't infinitely care for random people she had just met. She could be rather hateful too, he had realized earlier on in life, when she had avoided him for 2 whole months (a feat, considering she had practically live at the Uchiha's main household) after he did something to annoy her. But he knew it wasn't her eternally giving, loving, amazing, perfect and wonderful heart that drew him; it was the insightful, deep pieces of undeniably profound wisdom that had astounded him, that attracted his interest. It seemed Sakura was a deep thinker; expected, considering her obvious intelligence. But there was something there. There was something that made her different. To Itachi Uchiha, Sakura Haruno was an enigma- and he was determined to eventually figure her out.

She amused him. And besides, Itachi had always liked puzzles.

* * *

**Sakura**

**.**

Sakura had decided to delay _it_ for as long as humanly possible.

All week, she had jumped up with some lame whenever Ino came into the room.

She even avoided hanging out at the Uchiha mansion whenever Sasuke invited her- she couldn't face Itachi, knowing she was going to be involved in something that would inevitably piss him off. She knew Sasuke was pissed, but he was her best friend. He's been through worst.

But she knew that it was unavoidable; she knew her sensei was completely unstoppable when she'd made up her mind. She knew it'd only be a matter of time until Tsunade realised that Sakura wasn't carrying out her plans… or what Sakura had received of it.

Hmm… now that she thought about it, she could just tell Tsunade that she hasn't yet formulated a plan of attack. She could even go so far as to say that she'd already tried some things out in the Uchiha household (probably the only place in the country where Jiraiya -and by default, Tsunade- didn't have a pair of eyes and ears lurking about). Now that she'd fully considered it, she could get out of this mess if she'd just beat Tsunade's stubbornness with her very own! Maybe her mother was wrong! Maybe, just maybe, Sakura's stubbornness will become her only liberator in an otherwise bleak situation!

But of course, like all things in her life, when things start to look up, Ino has to come along to go ruin it.

"Hey Forehead, Tsunade-sama's finally devised a fully capable plan that will get the idiot brothers to get along in no time! It's a good thing you waited and didn't go charging head first into the situation; I mean-"

Sakura raised her hand. "Ino, I don't wanna hear it". And then she ran for her life. She ran and ran and never looked back.

That is, until Ino cornered her the next day. She was walking amiably (As much as she could when avoiding a psycho blondie), on her way to class, when she was abruptly grabbed into a storage cupboard (that _should_ be locked) as she was about to turn a corner. She was harshly slammed against the door; Sakura could only groan in pain and trepidation. And when she looked up, there was a gleam of sadistic glee in Ino's eyes; Sakura was certain Ino gained enjoyment from seeing her cry. Sadistic hoe.

"Now you'll listen to what I say, and you won't run _again,_" Ino had almost growled, her face pressed as close to Sakura's without actually touching. And Sakura knew Ino was trying to be intimidating, but she knew her childhood friend enough to doubt her threats.

"Bite me, pig" She spat with equal venom, futilely struggling against the power Ino had exerted onto her grasp in an effort to prevent Sakura's hands from escaping its pinned position on the door, beside herself.

When Ino merely tightened her hand, Sakura glared as best as she could in the dim lighting of the Maths storeroom. That reminded her… "INO! GET OFF! I have a test today!" She screamed, now thoroughly infuriated.

But Ino merely smirked, cackling like a mad-man. "Don't worry, Tsuande-sama will excuse you. I guess that means you'll have to just do it next lesson. In the 6th form study. Where Itachi usually chills during 4th period on a Wednesday…"

Sakura quirked an eyebrow. "I though this was my mission? Why are you more knowledgeable the me? …You know what? Since you're all-knowing about Itachi, why don't _you_ do this?" She questioned fervently, hoping to have some justification for her sudden abandonment of the… project. Ino just shook her head, looking at her as if speaking to some stupid child that really _should_ know _better_.

"Nahh… Tsunade-sama's aim requires a close, mutual friend, meaning you, specifically"

"But-"

"No."

Sakura sighed. "So? What's the plan? I don't want to miss _all_ of maths; Mr Smith would stab my calculator with the ultra-sharpened pencil he keeps hidden in his draw… _Just in case_, he would say"

And when Sakura noticed the almost excited (and definitely gleeful –probably at her expense) smile that had plastered itself onto the blonde's face, Sakura felt her stomach sinking in dread, for the second time this week.

"You, Haruno-san, will find out Itachi Uchiha's weakness; you will know all there is to know about the mysterious Uchiha heir. You will know him inside and out; you will know him like nobody else"

Ino didn't see the punch coming. She only felt it, even hours later, when she couldn't lift her left arm to punch Sakura back.

* * *

**A few weeks ago…**

"_Hey, is that Itachi Uchiha?" _

People gossiped.

"_Hey, hey, hey! Is he looking this way?"_

"_Is he single?" _

They tried to look away, but they couldn't seem to take their eyes off him.

"_That's Itachi, right?"_

"_Hey? Who's that girl?"_

They were far too intrigued for their own good_._

"_The girl? Isn't that Haruno-san?"_

"_Yeah… hey, what is she doing? Is she-" _

They were interested.

"_WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING?!"_

"_Hey! Did she just really… do __**that**__?!" _

Humans are disgustingly curious creatures.

* * *

Sakura didn't talk to Ino about it when they spoke again the next day; she would abruptly change the subject whenever Ino thought to bring it up. Ino didn't breech the subject again; she knew Sakura. Talking about that specific_ thing_ had become taboo. So she just gave her best friend a knowing look. Sakura merely walked away.

When she reached the bus stop, she was aggravated. She kicked a rock at the bus shelter, hoping to release some anger before she got home, where she would certainly take it out on her family.

"You know, a girl like you should be destroying government property"

Sakura merely crouched down, hoping to avoid looking at anybody lest she go beat them up, her irritation pouring off of her in waves. The stranger merely stared.

"A girl like me?" she muttered, clenching her teeth painfully. She buried her face in her arms, leaning back against the bus stop. She didn't care that she was being a brat in public, with some weird guy. She was pissed.

"Haruno." But at the sound of a sharp, painfully familiar voice, Sakura slowly raised her head. Emerald eyes met the eerie, obsidian depths of infamous Uchiha eyes.

"Itachi"

* * *

**A/N: For those of you who are curious, 'Ofsted' carry out school inspections throughout England, and report directly to Parliament. They decided if your school is good enough.**

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**Sorry for being really late, and the short chapter. I'm genuinely regretful of the fact that I couldn't post this earlier. I wanted to write more, but it seemed like a good place to end it? I dunno. I lost inspiration. Someone send me a good Itachi story/video.  
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**And if you've reviewed, you would've known that I was working on this chapter a few (one?) week(s) ago…? I just couldn't finish it because I don't like it. Boo.  
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_**Review= Preview.**_

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**Next Chapter: Communication.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I don't play the guitar, but play the violin. I know that extreme temperatures affect my instrument, so I'm assuming the same for the guitar, just for the story's sake.**

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This Is War

_Chapter 3_

* * *

**Itachi**

It was a disgustingly hot day.

He could feel the sweat lingering on his skin, his clothes perpetually stuck to every inch of his person. But what he was most pissed about was the weather messing with his guitar; he had planned a stress free day, just strumming his new, favourite friend to the random tunes that would appear in his twisted little mind.

Now he had to spend a good 10 minutes to ensure that it was in tune, as perfect as he deemed all his equipment needed to be. All that while wasting perfectly useful minutes waiting in a sweltering, enclosed bus stop for an incompetent bus simply because his father had refused to let him use his beautiful, _hard earned_ Harley Davidson after an _almost_-collision with some stupid, moronic teenager.

And since he had time to spare, he got his guitar out, portray a sight many fangirls would kill to photograph and continually admire.

Until a distinctly pink-haired girl decided to disrupt his perfectly peaceful afternoon with her incessant sulking. Quite simply, she was getting on his nerves. And so, like every situation he had previously faced, he dealt with it in an individual, Uchiha manner; he did it with subtlety. He placed his guitar down onto his lap, simply settling his gaze on the disgruntled little lady, analyzing her.

"You know, a girl like you should be destroying government property"

And when she responded with even more hostility, he decided: _screw subtlety_. It was too fucking _hot_.

"Haruno" he pronounced carefully, just incase she was too engrossed in her anger to comprehend her surroundings. There was a note of annoyance creeping into his usually monotonous voice.

Obsidian eyes met the eerie, emerald depths of infamous Haruno eyes.

"Itachi"

He indicated to her distressed positioning with a nonchalant nod of his head. When she merely shrugged in return, he gave a pointed raise of one perfectly formed eyebrow.

A smile tugged her lips; he could easily see it. It always starts with the brightening of her eyes, a slight flutter of her pretty little lashes, and ends with the breathe-taking smile that was always seemingly plastered on her youthful disposition. Itachi could feel his own lips twitching, itching to release the smile the both he and she knew was just waiting to be allowed.

He knew that she knew about their silent conversations; conversations that lacked words but overflowed with meaning. Conversations that conveyed a lot of meaning with one look, or one movement; but they always knew what the other meant. It had started when Sakura had first realized that Itachi Uchiha was indeed a man of few words.

And Sakura's smile was a smile of gentle relief; a lightness in the knowledge of their consistently silent relationship remaining the same as it is: comfortable, despite her avoidance of him in the past few days. He knew that it amused her, how well they could communicate with each other; but he was more amused that it seemed to indicate to something within her, demanding that she stop her foolish behaviors of evasion.

_Oh_, Itachi knew of Sakura's agenda; but he would have only provided her a few more days at best, considering her lack of love towards any sort of confrontation with him, and then he would have cornered him into some wall, like he did the last time she was avoiding him.

"You know, if you just left that thing at home, you could have saved yourself a whole lot of hassle" she muttered, grinning cheekily.

Itachi threw a pencil at her.

**.**

**Sakura**

The next few days, everyone noticed a changed in Haruno Sakura; even the people who didn't usually realise she was there, as she remained in her best friends' shadows.

This may have been due to her realization of the fact that she shouldn't let one stupid mission get in the way of a friendship that had been building since her early childhood, therefore causing her not to constantly worry about it, like she had previously. Or her sudden happiness may be due to the fact that afterwards, Itachi and Sakura stayed at their favourite coffee shop in town, listening (barely talking) to their surroundings; comfortable. But she was glad to have her friendship with Itachi_ and_ Sasuke back.

So when she got to her bus stop late after school again (Tsunade still didn't know how to sort her paperwork all by herself) saw Itachi, _and_ the cigarette that laid casually between his index and middle finger, she was surprised by the fact that he was now willing to smoke in public. She thought it _ruined the Uchiha image as the clan heir_; Sakura had remembered Itachi complaining about Fugaku complaining about it. _Boys_.

"You know, you can't smoke in a bus stop" she quipped, healing against the bus stop beside him. She could feel the material of the small bus shelter move slightly, as he moved his toned shoulders in a casual shrug.

He took another drag. "It's a one off thing"

She turned to look at him, knowing that he was watching her out of the corner of his eyes. "Is it Uchiha-sama?"

Itachi blew the smoke in her face, and she coughed, attempting to fan the smoke out of her face. She turned away, instead choosing to sit on the small, provided bus seats, a safe distance from Itachi's evil smoke. She knew enough as an _outsider_ to not pester him about answers concerning the clan head of the prestigious Uchiha Family.

She settled for glaring at his back. "Get the fuck out"

Itachi threw an expensive looking lighter at her.

She caught it with ease. "I'm selling this on ebay. Your fangirls will go mad"

**.**

"It's a one off thing" she quoted, using air quotations and a cheeky smile to express her inherent hate of his newly exhibited habit. When he didn't respond, she pushed at his shoulder, causing him to stumble forward from where he was leaning against the edge of the bus shelter, _smoking_.

When the esteemed Uchiha heir had regained his balance, he turned around and glared; of course, it would have been terribly intimidating had it been anyone else. But Sakura had had years of experience, having been friends even an even more glare-y than the one standing before her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Get out" she demanded, crossing her arms across her chest, leaning her hip against the wet bus shelter. It had started raining again, despite the previously excruciating weather. Itachi crossed his arms in a mimic of her actions, cigarette hanging casually in between beautifully pink lips, before resignedly stepping towards the dryer shelter. As he walked past, Itachi blew another cloud of smoke at her angry face, causing her to turn her head as she staggered away, hacking up her lungs. She wanted to curse at him, call a bastard, an asshole, a demon.

But she had notice a small family running through the rain, heading towards the bus shelter; Sakura didn't want to swear in front of the 2 children the came running with their parents. Despite all appearances, Sakura was raised with impeccable manners. And when Itachi noticed what she was looking at, he had raised one eyebrow at her, questioning her. And once again, she merely shrugged.

It had started to rain harder, causing the small drenched group to pick up their pace; and as they got closer, Itachi did something completely unexpected. He stepped outside.

He stepped out into the unsheltered, wet, cold, harsh, typical and unforgiving British rain. He nonchalantly supported himself against the outside of the bus shelter, as if there was nothing peculiar about the current situation. Like he had been there all along.

And when the mother had arrived and settled down against the dry, (semi) comfortable plastic of the bus seats, she had glared in disgust at the uncaring Uchiha; Itachi, who had stayed in the cold rain, risking his own health, for _her children_. When she ushered her children away from the "delinquent", as she had muttered hatefully, Sakura glared at the woman in return.

And then she had _looked_ at Itachi. Because she knew Itachi didn't step outside because he didn't want the woman reporting him for smoking at a public bus stop; Itachi knew that the law couldn't actually do anything to him, or that if they tried, his father could just cover everything up. And he didn't do it to protect the wonderful, amazing status of the Uchiha clan; he didn't do it because of any of those things, because Sakura knew that Itachi simply didn't _give a fuck_. He did it… because of the children. She had seen the split second of resolution that had settled in his dark, beautiful eyes a second after he had finally seen the children; Sakura had seen that particular moment.

So, she looked, and she stared, and she gazed at him.

And for the first time in her life, it seemed as if she was actually _seeing_ him as a person, not just as her best friend's elder brother. She was seeing Itachi Uchiha; and she liked what she had finally seen.

As Itachi got on the ("late", as he had complained when it had arrived) bus, he noticed the look Sakura was giving him.

Itachi glared hatefully at Sakura's soft, gentle smile.

.

* * *

**Gosh, sorry for the late update… My geography teacher was like Cerberus… times two. Bitches, that's like, 6 heads. She was hounding everyone; that shit was that scary.  
**

**And yeah; my writing style changes depending on my mood. If you don't like it, well… tough nubs. Me don't give a fucks.  
**

**BTW I've merged the original chapter 2 and chapter 3, so don't be scared. It wasn't deleted by my idiocy.**

**Sorry for the (kinda) filler (but necessary) chapter; it was needed for character and relationship development.**

* * *

**Next chapter: Connection.**


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